The Dark Arts of Love
by x-Punch-Buggy-Red-x
Summary: Someone from the past shows up in Sirius Black's life in a very unusual way, and is plunged into the heart of the ongoing war. Will getting close to a certain Slytherin aid the Order in their campaign, or will her own feelings betray them all? DracoxOC.


AN**: So this is set during the fifth book, just after the school term at Hogwarts has started. Just to save any confusion. And I haven't read the books in a looooong time, so if I get any of the minor details wrong, don't hate me...**

Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. If I did, I wouldn't be typing this on the oldest laptop known to man.**

The Witching Hour approached as a group of wizards met in a quiet bar in Hogsmeade. Each of the eight men took their seats in silence, exchanging grim smiles in way of greeting. A scruffy black dog sat quietly on the floor beside them, watching the men with intelligent eyes. They knew each other well, but this was not a night for friendly banter and pleasantries.

"It's quiet tonight." A young man with long red hair and a badly scarred face remarked.

"That's the point, Bill." An older man replied, his right eye whizzing and spinning unnaturally in it's socket, his left eye focused on the young red-head. "The Hog's Head is about the only bar in the Wizarding World that we can talk freely in without being overheard by Death Eaters and busybodies. As you all know, the ignorance of the Ministry regarding the return of Lord Voldemort-" A shudder ran through a few members of the group at the mention of the dark wizard's name, but the man continued without concern. "-has caused our campaign no end of difficulty. Not that I expected any different from Fudge. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the man had been placed under a Confundus charm, but some people manage to make complete fools of themselves without the help of any bewitchment whatsoever."

"Well, that's certainly true." Agreed a tired-looking man with greying hair. "The main thing is that the Dark Lord is no closer to getting his hands on Harry. As long as he is at Hogwarts and under Dumbledore's protection, he is safe. We know that Voldemort's focus is, and always has been, to get his hands on the one person who he was never able to kill."

"That may be his main focus, Remus, but we all know that that is not where his plans end. You-Know-Who may be in hiding right now, but his band of merry men are certainly making their presence known. Among the Wizarding community as well as the Muggle community."

"What would you suggest we do, Arthur? The Order is not as strong as it once was, and as long as the Ministry continues to bury it's head in the sand, we can't rely on any outside help."

"Not everyone within the Ministry is as blind as Fudge. I have heard talk. Whispers. People have become suspicious...the activity of the Death Eaters has not gone unnoticed. There are good people in the Ministry, people we can trust..." A tall, well-muscled black man said in a deep, soothing voice. The man with the magical eye shook his head.

"No. We can't trust anybody else right now, Kingsley. We have no idea how far Voldemort's reach goes. The Ministry could already be infiltrated with his filth. All it takes is for one person to say the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong company and everything we've worked towards will go up in flames."

"Moody may be paranoid, but unfortunately, his concerns are not entirely unfounded. You remember what happened the last time He came to power." Remus muttered, darkly.

"Of course, of course..." Kingsley replied, taking a deep drink from his tankard of Butter Beer.

"There is a difference between being paranoid and being cautious, Remus. I..." Moody trailed off, frowning. His magical eye was focused on something behind him, so that only the white of his eye showed. "Apparently we are not as alone as we first thought." He growled. The men strained to see what he was looking at, and for the first time they noticed a cloaked figure sitting alone at a table across the bar. There was no drink in front of them and, although their face was hidden in the shadow of their hood, it was obvious that whoever it was had been listening to their conversation. The black dog on the ground stood with his hackles raised and growled, dangerously. Remus leaned in to whisper to Moody.

"I recognise that cloak...I have seen it more than once this past week. Sirius, Arthur and myself went to Diagon Alley two nights ago, and Sirius swore that we were being followed. I think the Dark Lord may be monitoring our activity."

"Well then...let's have a word with our new friend then, shall we?" Kingsley suggested in a deep whisper. The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the sound of a door closing made them all jump and turn around. The hooded figure was gone.

"Quickly!" Moody commanded, jumping to his feet with surprising speed. "If we can get him before he disappears, maybe we can get some answers out of him."

The hooded figure strode quickly away from the Hog's Head, whispering a string of angry curse-words as she went. "How could I have been such an idiot? I should never have been so obvious, I _know_ better. This has really messed with my head..." before she could indulge in any more self-flagellation, the air was filled with a succession of loud cracks as she was suddenly surrounded by eight powerful wizards, all with their wands drawn and pointed right at her. She froze, but only for a fraction of a second. Her defensive instincts took over and flame erupted from her clenched fist to form a long, twisted wooden staff, which she twirled expertly before sinking into a combative stance, with her staff in one hand and a blue flame dancing dangerously in the open palm of her free hand.

Alarmed by this strange magic, the men surrounding her fired several stunning curses, all of which she dodged and deflected.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Moody shouted, and the curses stopped. The hooded figure rose slowly from her defensive stance, looking around warily at the men surrounding her with an air of deep mistrust, but she raised her hands in surrender and the staff that she held disappeared in a plume of thick black smoke. "Reveal yourself, stranger." Moody growled, threateningly.

"Not so fast, old man." She replied, in a steady voice. Her accent was unmistakably American and, considering her position, she sounded almost cocky. "Let's not forget who attacked who. And I thought the British were supposed to be polite..."

"Enough of the smart talk, missy. We know you've been following us. So come on, out with it. Who are you? A Death Eater? Who are you working for?" Moody demanded, the red sparks flying from the end of his wand a clear indication that his patience, if it had ever existed, was well and truly gone.

"I'm not working for anybody. My business is my own." She replied. Moody lowered his wand a fraction of an inch, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Don't lie to me, girl. If you're not working for anybody, why are you following us? Hmm? Listening into our conversations? Who else, other than a follower of the Dark Lord, would have interest in, or even know the _existence _of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Well, that is an interesting question. One that, unfortunately, I don't have the answer to. Because I've not been following _you_." She insisted. "I've been following _him_." She pointed to the big black dog standing on Moody's right hand side.

"You've been following the _dog_?" Remus asked, suspiciously. She snorted, derisively.

"Please. Do not insult my intelligence and I won't insult yours." She stepped forward, aware that every wand in the area was pointed straight at her, and took a deep, steadying breath. "Sirius Black...I have something for you. I didn't want it to be like this, but I don't exactly have much of a choice now, do I?"

The black dog stepped forward and in a swirl of black robes, became a man: a very confused, suspicious-looking man.

"Who are you? How do you know me?" He asked, curiously. She ignored his questions and fished something small and shiny out of a hidden pocket on the inside of her cloak and tossed it over to him. Before he could catch it, it stopped in mid-air, suspended by some unseen force where it revolved slowly in front of him.

"I trust you recognise this?" She asked. Sirius didn't answer straight away. He reached out gingerly, ignoring Moody's warning that it might be cursed, and took the small, silver object in his hand, where he turned it over, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Of course I do." He replied in barely more than a whisper.

"What is it, Sirius?" Remus asked, with obvious concern.

"It's the locket I gave to Katherine the night that she left. I never thought I'd see it again...where on Earth did you get this?" He whispered. The hooded girl hesitated, looking down. It was difficult to tell, because her face was still concealed in shadow, but she almost looked nervous. "Who are you?"

"Well...ah. I think maybe we would be better off talking about this somewhere else. Somewhere...more private..." She started, but Moody cut her off.

"The Hell with that. Enough of the secrecy, girl. Reveal yourself!"

She breathed a sigh of defeat and slowly raised her hands and pulled back her hood to reveal her face. She was young, younger than any of them would have guessed at, and she was undeniably beautiful, with clear pale skin and large, startlingly green eyes. Her shiny, dark hair tumbled down past her shoulders in loose waves now that it was free of the hood and her lips were full and pouting. Sirius was not the only one in the group to let out a gasp of surprise.

"My name," She said, "is Max Delfino. My mother is Katherine Delfino."

Sirius stepped towards her, studying her face intently. He raised his hand, as if to touch her cheek, but thought better of it and let it drop back down.

"Katherine has a daughter...you look a lot like your mother." He said, and there was an element of pain in his voice. "How...how old are you?" He asked, urgently.

"I'm sixteen this month." She replied.

"Sixteen..." He repeated, and his eyes narrowed in concentration. She didn't need him to say anything to know what he was focusing so intently on. She felt like she could see the cogs of his mind turning as he tried to figure out dates. He shook his head, as though trying to clear his thoughts, and looked up at her with a mixture of realisation and disbelief.

"Who is your father?" He asked, in a strangled voice.

"Do you really have to ask that question?" She asked, quietly. "I didn't just travel eight thousand miles to give you some jewellery."

Nobody said anything, and for a while the silence was deafening as Sirius looked down, seemingly deep in thought. Max was focused so completely on the man in front of her, the man she'd been waiting her whole life to meet, that she didn't even notice that seven wands had lowered to their owners' sides as everybody in the empty, cobbled street processed what she had just said. Everybody, of course, but Moody.

"Sirius?" Remus stepped forward, looking concerned for his friend who seemed to be frozen where he was standing. "Are you okay?"

Sirius nodded, slowly, and looked back up into the young girl's eyes.

"I'm fine, Remus. I just found out that I have a daughter...a man needs a minute or two to process that sort of thing."

AN**: Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be up shortly. Not that I actually know where I'm going with this, I'm just making it up as I go. Please review, because it makes me do my sitting-down dance in my chair. And you want me to do my sitting-down dance, don't you? **


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